San Joseph Bay Sea Stacks EarthCache
Hidden : 5/23/2010
Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
3 out of 5

Size: Size: not chosen (not chosen)

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Geocache Description:

Welcome to San Joseph Bay at the world famous Cape Scott Provincial Park. San Joseph Bay is a gentler alternative to making the 2-3 day trek to the lighthouse and back. Expect 45 minutes to one hour each way.

The Park map can be found here (pdf). Please have a good read of the website and make sure that this park is suited to your abilities, although the trail to San Joseph Bay is quite easy. This Earthcache is also tide dependent.


A sea stack is a natural geological formation usually found near rugged coastlines and appear as vertical stone columns offshore from a main land mass.

Sea stacks are formed when a headland juts out into the ocean and hydraulic forces work away at the landform, removing the softer rock, until a sea arch is formed. Over time, the landform is eroded further and the arch eventually collapses resulting in a sea stack just offshore. Clays tend to be too weak and collapse quickly before a sea arch can form.



Sea Stack

The taller the sea stack, the more unstable it is. Eventually the sea stack will topple and make a stump.



Sea Stump

These features are formed through a combination of erosion by wind and water taking thousands of years and large trees make these formations their home sometimes.

Depending on the type of rock, you will witness varying types of formations. There are three types of rock:
  • Igneous- Formed when lava cools and hardens into rock.
    • Intrusive- When magma has a long time to cool, large, visible crystals form
    • Extrusive- When lava is exposed to the elements and cools quickly, you will witness small crystals or even a glassy texture, such as obsidian
  • Sedimentary- Formed when either existing rocks are compressed under immense pressure or dissolved minerals are precipitated out of water
    • Clastic- Rock which is formed by existing rocks being compressed together (conglomerate has large rocks and sandstone has smaller grains)
    • Organic- When the remains of living organisms, such as corals or molluscs, are compressed together to form rocks such as coal
    • Chemical- Dissolved minerals are left behind when water evaporates (this is how stalactites and stalagmites are made)
  • Metamorphic- Formed when rocks are compressed under both heat and pressure.

Logging Requirements

Message me on my profile, the answers to the questions below, to log this find.

  1. Count how many sea stacks in the near vicinity of the coordinates have substantial trees, not bushes, on top.
  2. There are two sea caves nearby of equal size. How tall are they?
  3. Which of the three above rock types are the sea stacks comprised of?
  4. Optional: Take a picture of yourself or your party at the site (you'll probably want to anyway, this place is gorgeous) and post with your log.

Additional Hints (No hints available.)



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